Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Growing up in Houston, I was no stranger to chicken and sausage gumbo. The city’s close proximity to Louisiana’s Cajun country insured that I knew plenty of kids with family names such as Boudreaux, Guidry or Hebert, whose parents often had a big pot of the chunky soup simmering on the stove. After an afternoon of riding bikes, you could walk into one of these kitchens, grab a bowl and ladle a portion thick with smoky, succulent meats over a pile of rice. Gumbo is good and during the cold months it was almost as prevalent as chili in my part of town.

With the New Orleans Saints going to the Super Bowl for the first time, the decision about what to make on the big day is simple. Sure, quarterback Drew Brees may be a Texan but my Super Bowl plan is to cook a big pot of chicken and sausage gumbo. And while I’ve long been a gumbo eater for some reason, however, I’ve never been much of a gumbo maker. So when I needed advice, I turned to Ken Wheaton.

Ken Wheaton, who lives in Brooklyn but hails from Opelousas, Louisiana, is famous in certain New York City circles for his gumbo. So much that when his editor caught wind of his prowess, he insisted that Ken include his recipe in his excellent new novel, The First Annual Grand Prairie Rabbit Festival.
Ken’s novel isn’t a food novel, per se. Nope, it’s a story about a confused Catholic priest struggling with his faith and vows. And while that may seem like a heavy topic, in Ken’s hands it’s a humorous, heartfelt story that will make you laugh and might even make you cry. But it will also make you hungry for both Cajun food and culture as Ken deftly captures small-town Louisiana life in all its church-going, Zydeco-dancing and gumbo-making glory. And yes, please note that there’s also lots of swearing, drinking and rabbit-stew eating—it’s not a book for the easily offended.

I won’t get into plot particulars, nor will I delve into any other English-major mumbo jumbo that I probably knew at one point but have long since forgotten. But do know this: Ken is an expert storyteller who has an amazing gift of creating a sense of place. And if you’ve been aching to spend some time in Cajun country with some colorful characters, his book will tide you over until you can enjoy the real thing.

Of course, you can also satisfy your hunger by making a batch of gumbo. Because I like to tinker, I messed with Ken’s method just a bit, but I followed his key rules to not add tomatoes, mushrooms or carrots. And while the word gumbo stems from the Bantu term for okra, kingombo, I didn’t add that as well even though it’s quite common to include it for both flavor and its thickening power.

If you’ve ever been intimidated by making gumbo, as I was, don’t be. The hardest part is making the roux (which I now do in the oven so it’s a snap) and waiting for the soup to be ready. And when you tuck into your bowl filled with a rich broth, smoky sausage and tender chicken, you’ll be happy that you made a batch. Your friends and family will thank you, too.

Method:
To make your roux, in a large cast iron skillet, mix together the flour and the canola oil. Place in an oven set at 350 degrees, walk away and let it cook for two hours. No hovering, no stirring, no nothing! After a couple of hours, take it out of the oven and it should be chocolate brown. Now, you can also do it the standing over the stove method if you prefer, but I don’t.

While the roux is cooking, make your chicken and broth. First, season your chicken parts generously with salt, black pepper and Cayenne. Place the chicken parts in a large pot with the quartered onions, whole garlic, quartered celery, 2 bay leaves and 8 quarts of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for an hour and a half, skimming any foam that rises to the surface.

Take the chicken out of the pot and when it’s cool, remove the fat and pick the meat off the bones and cut into pieces. (Be sure and save the bones for another round of stock making.) When the broth is cool, strain and throw out the vegetables. Remove the fat with a gravy separator or by the plastic bag method. To do the latter, you’ll pour the broth into a quart-sized plastic storage bag and once you see the fat rise to the top, snip off a bottom corner and drain it until you reach the fat layer. Do this in batches. You should have about 8 quarts.

Clean your pot (or get another big one if you’re blessed with a large, well-stocked kitchen) and in the bottom of it heat up 1 tablespoon of canola oil. Add the diced onions and let them cook for 10 minutes. Add the chopped celery and bell pepper, cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Throw in the minced garlic and cook for a minute. Now stir in the roux and cook it with the vegetables for five minutes, stirring every so often. Add the chicken meat and half of the sliced sausage and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. If things start to get sticky, pour in some water or wine.

Now, slowly whisk in your strained chicken broth to the roux, vegetable, meat mixture. Throw in two more bay leaves, thyne and the Worcestershire, bring to a boil and then simmer for an hour. At this time add the remaining sausage and cook for another hour. Fifteen minutes before it’s done, add the minced green onions and filé powder and check to see if it needs salt, black and Cayenne pepper.

Remove bay leaves and serve over cooked rice with file powder for people to add to their bowls.

Notes: This is a soupy gumbo. If you like it thicker, use less liquid and/or cook it for a lot longer than stated here. Filé (pronounced fee-lay) powder is ground sassafras leaves and a dash of it will also help thicken it. If you’re feeling wild, replace the canola oil with bacon grease. Ken also adds tasso (a Cajun ham) to his chicken and sausage gumbo, but I couldn’t find that here in NYC. If you’re in that predicament, however, Ken suggests ordering your sausage and tasso from his hometown butcher, Kelly's Country Meat Block & Diner (Toll free 1-866-948-MEAT). He says, "I usually order pure pork sausage, but lots of people are fans of the half&half (beef and pork). The andouille is killer. The tasso is awesome. They also have rabbits, too!" Or he likes to use Bruce Aidell’s andoille sausage, as he believes it has an authentic flavor. He also prefers cooking up only chicken thighs and skipping the whole broth-making step and just adds water to the pot as he lets his pot of gumbo simmer forever. Do this if you prefer.

Full disclosure: Ken’s my friend and I’ve been watching him write this novel for many years, so you can take what I say about it with a grain of salt. That said please know I would never recommend something unless I loved it and thought y’all might love it, too.

I am SO excited because my good friend's Louisiana mama is going to make her family recipe shrimp gumbo for us on the Superbowl! I also grew up with certain snacks--tortilla rolls, Chex mix, & stuffed mushrooms (making them with andouille this time!)--that I just *can't* watch the game without.

Second ... I love andouille sausage! It is among my favorite things to serve with rice, or beans. Your gumbo looks amazing!! I suspect you could sub crawfish or shrimp for the chicken if you wanted and it would be really good, too!

I just made a pot of chix/saus gumbo last week. Winter has been killer for me (being from Port Arthur, TX) here in St. Louis. The gumbo reminds me of home and gets me talking with a Cajun accent. My question is on the flour/oil ratio for the gumbo-I remember growing up with the roux being a mix of unequal parts but I can't recall the amounts. Any other suggestions on the roux ratio and the benefits/downsides to them?

I just made some chicken-and-sausage gumbo last week. Chicken was on sale so of course I bought too much and now have to eat it, and I had some andouille left over from something else, and it was cold outside, and I will eat anything that can be served with rice.

Of course, my mother called right in the middle of my making it and completely scrambled my thought processes, but it still came out OK. I wish I had known about that roux-in-the-oven trick; it would have saved me a lot of panic about burning things.

It ended up being not very authentic because I had to scramble to make up for lost time, but it tasted good, anyway. Now I'm sorry I gave away so much of it to my boyfriend. I'll have to make another batch.

For the record, I'd always suggest getting andouille from Louisiana. But Aidell's will do in a pinch if you don't have time to order. (And it's as good, often better, than what real butchers not from Louisiana arrive at when they try to make it themselves)

Or if the roux thing seems too difficult, Tony Chachere's (also from Opelousas BTW) Instant Roux from their website. It's great in a pinch when you want gumbo RIGHT NOW or you only want to make a small pot...although I don't know why one would. After all the best part of gumbo is how it's even more delicious the next day.

Bluejeangourmet--I like the idea of stuffing mushrooms with andouille. And I bet your friend's mama makes a mean pot of gumbo!

Kelly--I love it with rice and beans and well. And you could definitely sub seafood for the chicken.

Christina--Sautee the okra and then add it with the second sausage.

Talida--You should definitely make gumbo!

Sara--I think there are different rules out there, but I've always used a 1:1 ratio.

Folloder--There's no reason why you couldn't cook this for days. I'm just not that patient.

Latter-Day Flapper--I love the roux in the oven trick, I just wish I'd learned it sooner.

Melissa--To preserve the flavor you get from your brown bits, you could brown your chicken before making the stock and then use that pan to cook the roux or scrape it and stir it into the cooked roux. Does that make sense?

Kristin--Yeah, I'm with you on that one. Okra and I have a difficult relationship.

That sounds like such a cool idea for Superbowl. I had no idea the Saints have never been in it before, which is cool because I always route for the underdog. Plus I know nothing about football, so I mostly eat while everyone else goes crazy about the game!

I've been reading your blog for a while, but the whole time I've lived in Texas. So every time you blogged about delicious Texan cuisine (especially Mexican food), I would think, "mmm, I think I'll have some of that soon".

I recently made the move from Houston to Portland, OR and it's only been a few weeks, but I'm already suffering from Mexican-withdrawals :) I've met some fellow Texans and most of them have assured me that I won't find any "good" Mexican food in the Northwest.

Defintely andouille sausage it makes the difference between good and fabulous. Add a little cheddar cheese grated on top with those green onions and make sure you have texas style cornbread, not sweet and you've got it just right! chrisq

Oh boy I am so excited! I have been wanting to make gumbo for awhile but haven't found the right recipe. I love everything you do so I'm going to give this one a try! And I did see Ken's book at the local B&N and almost picked it up...definitely will do next time I'm there. Thanks!

I second Ken's suggestion that if you can't be in Louisiana making gumbo, use Aidell's andouille. The upside of winter is that you get a lot of gumbo weather! And both gumbo and football go great with Abita beer from Abita Springs, LA!

Can I confess that this comment is nothing to do with gumbo and all to do with a big THANK YOU for the ginger crinkles recipe from the end of last year - I made them yesterday for a dairy-free friend who's just had a baby and got a very very very grateful text. I didn't claim credit for them ;-) but thought you should know they were very well received. So thank you!

Being a Savoie, I make gumbo fairly regularly and to my surprise, this recipe is exactly the same way I make it, give or take a few cloves of garlic. This past weekend, I made jambalaya and it occurred to me that it has the same ingredients, just less broth! Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!ncsncs

Thank you so much for the gumbo recipe and techniques! I am from Dallas, Texas. My experience with seafood consisted entirely of fish sticks in the school cafeteria. As an adult, I visited Shreveport/Bossier City, LA where I started a lifelong love affair with Cajun food. The Seafood Gumbo at Don's seafood was a truly life changing experience. You have emboldened me to actually try to make my own gumbo.

That will be on my menu next week, after I get back from Who Dat! country. A bunch of us are headed to NOLA on Saturday to attend the Super Bowl watch party of the decade right down in the bigfatmiddle of the French Quarter. We're cooking up crawdaddys and steaming some boudin for sure! I'm so excited I'm bustin at the seams!

You can make a pretty decent roux in the microwave. I do equal parts veg oil and flour, and nuke it for 5 min, then 4, 3, 2 and finally in increments of 30 sec until its as dark as you want it. Make sure you stir very well between each heating and you're good to go!

Woo hoo -- this smells so good! I started making this yesterday but couldn't do the last 1 hour of simmering so I sat the whole pot outside overnight (it's 18 deg with 14" of snow on the ground in NJ) and just put it back on the stove. We'll re-heat it up for the game. Thanks for the great tip about making the roux in the oven -- it worked like a charm and sooo much easier. One change I made was to not use all of the stock -- I actually used only about half since I don't like it too soupy. Thanks for planting the seed in my brain that to watch the Saints, you must have gumbo and Abita. Bring it on Saints!

I made this last night for a party at my house and it is OFF THE HOOK crazy good! Thank you for sharing this recipe. The roux baked in the oven was like fudge and turned out perfectly. I had 20 friends over and every drop was gone. Here is the recipe for the microwave roux that my cheffing friends swear by.

Mix oil and flour together in a 4 cup measure. Microwave uncovered on high (100%) 3-5 minutes. Stir - roux will be a light brown at this time and will need to cook 30 seconds to 2 minutes longer to reach the dark brown color so important in making Louisiana gumbos and stews.

If your microwave is powerful, cook for 3 minutes, then stir....adding 30 second bursts - stirring in between - until roux is brown.If your microwave is average, cook for 5 minutes, stir, then an additional minute, stir.... 30 second bursts (stirring) until brown.

The Roux will be very hot, but the handle on your glass measuring cup MAY stay cool enough to touch. Be careful!

Roux freezes very well and you are ready at any time to put together a delicious gumbo or stew.Recipe adapted from "Voila!" - Jr League of Lafayette, LA

I've been reading your blog for a LONG time, but have never commented. I think your blog is the best thing since queso -- thank you for all of your effort.

I love gumbo but have never tried the oven roux method. You inspired me. I did one cup each flour/oil but found it had my preferred color after only about 1 hour. It was almost the color of milk chocolate. Also, yes, I admit to cheating -- I stirred it at two different times.

But I wanted to tell ya how much I love your site, and thank you for this. It used to take me 45 minutes on the stovetop, totally occupied. This time, I prepped veggies while my roux took care of itself.

Loved your writing about the chicken sausage gumbo. I have often told people about this creation, but they look at me kinda strange. I am going to refer folks to your website when it comes to chicken sausage gumbo! Thank you for sharing, and writing about the unique way Texan's view food. Stephanie from Houston

Growing up in and around New Orleans, I love a good gumbo. I have several recipes, but always love to try new ones. The whole time I was making this, something seemed out of sorts for me. We ate it, but knew something was wrong. This was soup. Not gumbo. Finally it clicked - there was no file' powder or okra in it!!! I've never, ever, had gumbo with out okra or file'. In fact, gumbo translates to okra and file' is used when okra is out of season. I've enjoyed some of yoru other recieps, but .... Sorry, but this one is just not good gumbo.

I've never made gumbo, and only had it once when my SIL made it. Unfortunately I wasn't impressed, but I still think of gumbo as a wonderful dish. I like this recipe as it doesn't contain seafood, as I can't eat it. My one question is fila powder or file powder as it is listed in the ingredients. I've never heard of this and surprisingly it didn't come up when I googled it. Thanks, Maggie

Alyssa--I'd be happy to help but I don't know your email! Why don't you shoot me an email.

Anon--Glad the roux worked for you!

Stephanie--I know, lots of people think of gumbo as only having seafood.

Nikkie--I'm sorry you didn't like the gumbo but thank you for the opportunity for me to make the recipe stronger. Filé powder had been listed in the notes, but now it's in the main ingredient list as well.

Mary Jo--Well, I'll be! What a small world!

Maggie--Filé powder is ground sassafras powder that's used as a thickener.

I added a smoked duck breast, and 1 teaspoon of smoked hot paprika. Didn't have file so skipped it. The roux in the oven worked perfectly! Served it to 6 snow bound friends who swear it was the best thing they have ever eaten - thanks!Dave in DC

Had to leave an update. This was fantastic! I cooked it for a family dinner. My dad makes excellent gumbo and he was skeptical of the oven roux method. He didn't think it was going to turn out right. This was my first time making it and I was nervous because I was sure he would have a critique (he and my grandmother grew up on Port Arthur, Texas). It was so good! He didn't have a single criticism and I now feel confident making it. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

Totally awesome gumbo. I must admit I had fallen into the habit of using a gumbo mix.. because I may DISDAIN for making roux. This method was great and near foolproof... The taste is great and now my new fav go to comfort food. Thanx Lisa... It is SNOWING here in the Hill Country of TX today. Unbelievable.

I can't wait to try this. I went to school in Beaumont and if there is one thing that I miss (besides all of the really great people) its GUMBO! I can't find authentic gumbo in Southern California so I'll just have to try and see if I can make it! :) Thanks for sharing!

I just came across your blog and I LOVE it! I'm from Texas but when my husband joined the Navy we had to move away. The food is one of the things I miss most!! I grew up around the Beaumont/Orange area right on the TX/Louisiana border. My maiden name is LeBlanc so it's safe to say I've eaten plenty of gumbo. The rest of the country doesn't know what it's missing!

Oh man. I read your blog religiously as a Homesick Texan who moved to Brooklyn in 2000, and then to Nevada in 2006. Your posts frequently echo my own experiences (though I certainly never cooked much in NYC).

Last Thanksgiving I searched EVERYWHERE for my Houston Grandma's Turkey Gumbo recipe...Now I will try this one. I doubt I can wait until November!

By the way, can I just pay you for the book now--I want my copy the minute it comes out. <3 <3 <3, www.sweetrickey.com

I ran across your blog today while searching for a Gumbo recipe. I cook Gumbo by memory, but I need to feed a larger group and was looking to find a recipe calculator to help me adjust...anyway...I have to thank you for the walk down memory lane.

Kenneth, my husband and I went to the same high school, he was just a year or two behind us. I think it is awesome that he has a book out and can't wait to read it.

It is just about a perfect recipe, and Kelly's Meat Market is definitely the way to go...my Father in Law will be delivering my order on Friday... The only thing that I would do different is to brown the meat in a cast iron skillet before adding to the stock pot. It adds another layer of flavor which is what Gumbo is all about.

I will have to try the oven roux...I remember it being done when I was a kid, but just never tried it that way; we have been doing the stand at the stove and stir method. Thank you for saving me a few hours.

Just a heads up for any UK residents looking to make gumbo -- the previously recommended Biloxi 'Louisiana Cajun' sausages are hard to get hold of right now, but Tesco 'Finest Hickory-smoked pork sausages' are a decent substitute, as they are not only smokey but also contain pepper, paprika and chilli.

You can also find file powder on eBay from time to time - I got a pouch from a US-based seller. P&P wasn't too bad.

I LOVE your blog. The recipes are the best. I have some friends who live out in podunk West Texas, and whenever I see these dishes, I always think of them.

Except this one :) I'm a Cajun, Mom and Dad were raised in Louisiana, but I've lived in Houston about fifteen years now. My dad always made gumbo after thanksgiving with the leftover turkey legs. He'd throw them in and let them cook until they were falling off the bones. It was amazing. However, we did the whole, butter and flour until it turned into the color of a red penny. This oven way is something else! I'm going to have to try it, along with the Worcestershire sauce, thats a new one too! Keep posting them! I'm definitely going to get your cookbook!!!

Hey! Thank you so much for posting this. I was born and raised in Texas and have recently moved to Canada. I am planning on using this recipe next week- I had the hardest time tracking down andouille sausage up here! I was wondering if there's a way to modify this recipe in a crock-pot. Just wondering if I could throw everything in there after making the roux or would this change the outcome too much?